


Employment Opportunities

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [15]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Forced Prostitution, Kurotsuchi is an ass, Multi, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6





	Employment Opportunities

Despite his terrible circumstances, Coyote Starrk thought that things could be much, much worse.

It had all started after his fall at the shinigami taichou's hands. He'd lay in the ruins, listening to Lilinette jeer at him for his failure. Neither of them had been worried that he would die. They had known there was no chance of that.

When an arrancar's mask was broken, they had to make a choice. It was largely instinctive. Almost all arrancar sacrificed a portion of their durability, giving up high speed regeneration for stronger hierro and more powerful cero. Starrk had not made that choice. No, he'd followed the same path as Ulquiorra and retained his regenerative abilities. And why not? He already had all the strength in the world.

The shinigami captain had come very, very close to ruining his internal organs. But he hadn't quite managed it and now, Starrk's body was attempting to fix the damage. And ultimately, it would, although with such a gruesome wound the process would be long and painful.

That turned out to be a good thing. When the shinigami had combed the wreckage for survivors, they had found him. Starrk hadn't been unconscious but in his nearly powerless state, he'd decided to pretend to be. And so he'd been mildly shocked when they had mislabeled him as a random numero, a fraccion at the most. Certainly his power was drained but that badly? Lilinette had been insulted but Starrk had spotted a potential in this.

The misidentification had continued all through his stay at the Twelfth. Starrk had done his very best to maintain it, of course. Keeping Lilinette within himself, he'd used her to help suppress his growing spiritual force. Along with Aizen's lessons in reiatsu control, he truly made himself seem like nothing but a Numero. The only people who would have known better never visited and through eavesdropping, Starrk realized they thought he was dead. There were some complaints from the one in charge, the horrifying man with the face paint, about his lack of powerful subjects. That gave Starrk an extra added incentive to keep his powers under wraps. He'd seen what the man did to his favorite 'test subjects.'

His stay still might have been horrifying but strangely, he remained completely untouched. All that happened to him was personality tests and a few researchers stopping by to ask him questions. One even played chess with him. Starrk was baffled by the conduct but wasn't about to say no to a reprieve from horrendous torture.

Finally, he found out why they were sparing him. It was not even remotely amusing and Starrk had quickly added the painted man to his 'kill if possible' list. Apparently, this place was always in need of funding and he'd hatched a plan for the more docile and powerless arrancar he captured. Starrk was actually outraged when his fate had been explained to him, although he'd hidden it very carefully under a mask of baffled hurt.

There were no laws about the treatment of hollows in Soul Society and unlike other hollows, they did not need to feed. That made arrancar ideal to be kept as slaves and pets. So they were being sold, to various buyers. With his good looks and gentle nature, Starrk was being sold to a very expensive whorehouse. Despite being assured of his docility, the place kept his reiatsu limiters firmly in place and often chained him, before the clients came. It was wise of them. Starrk had a very slow fuse but this was trying his patience. He hadn't had to endure anything like this in… well, forever. He'd been far too strong.

Fortunately, he was still a hollow and while multiple rapes would no doubt be traumatizing for a human or shinigami, to him they were a humiliating annoyance. He vastly preferred what was happening to him now to what the painted man would have done. And better still, his power was gradually rebuilding. He was just waiting now, waiting for it to be strong enough to break the collar and assure his escape from this wretched place. As he waited, he made a small list of people he would kill before he departed. Starrk didn't have much of a temper and his little black book was a small one. But it was a very, very black book indeed.

There were many people who would regret using him in such a way when this was over.

"You what?!" That exclamation was from Juushiro. He was the most appalled at the revelations that were occurring, but not even Soi Fon could fully keep the shock off her face. Mayuri just met them all with the complete assurance of someone who had consulted his legal team and knew he was fully covered.

"There are many precedents. Hollows have been used as 'guard dogs' on noble estates before. They've also been kept by shinigami on multiple occasions." He pointed out as all the taichou looked at him. "The main reason the practice was discontinued is because hollows must be fed and feeding them peasantry or prisoners was made illegal." There were frowns and a few winces around the table. They all knew that in the past, peasants had been considered the property of nobles and completely expendable. Yamamoto had played a large part in getting that ended, in fact. "Hunting other hollows is impractical. However, arrancar do not need to feed. They are ideal for such purposes."

"Mayuri, you sold one of them as a sexual slave!" Everyone knew about that now. The arrancar in question had staged an escape. The carnage had been surprisingly restrained, however. "How many did he kill?"

"Only six." Byakuya said calmly. His unit was investigating the crime scenes. "The manager of the whorehouse, three of the employees and two of the customers. Three of them were killed on the premise but the others, he hunted down." That was interesting to him. "There were many more he could have killed, yet spared. The deaths appear to be quite specific." The whole thing did not seem like mindless violence. The arrancar had served far more than two customers and the whorehouse had far more than three employees. "We are interviewing the other sex workers. From what little we have learned so far, the two clients killed were known for their liking of degrading sex." Apparently, the arrancar had taken offense to that.

"This arrancar that escaped. What did he look like? We should probably keep an eye out for him." Shunsui asked. All they knew right now was that the escapee was a numero and had already vanished, creating a garganta to Hueco Mundo as soon as his revenge was complete.

"I have a full report, complete with pictures." Mayuri pulled a folder out of his sleeves, laying it on the table and opening it. Then he passed a photograph to the taichou beside him, Toshiro. "The only name he would give was Wolf. His power was very low, approximately that of a seated officer. He seemed very calm and docile in nature. However, he was also rated as highly intelligent. I warned them to be careful…" The picture continued around the table as Mayuri spoke, until it reached Juushiro.

Everyone looked over at the gasp. The white haired taichou was staring at the picture in his hand with an expression of shock that quickly changed into horror.

"Juu? What is it?" Shunsui leaned over to look at the picture. "Oh sweet kami! MAYURI! What… how could you?!"

"What?" Kurotsuchi was taken aback by the sudden exclamation. "What is it?" He asked as Juushiro looked like he was having a minor heart attack.

"That's not a numero. It's Coyote Starrk, the Primera Espada." Shunsui growled and there was a sudden hum of conversation at the revelation. Mayuri looked utterly taken aback.

"But… he couldn't have been! His power was nowhere near that caliber! Admittedly, he was badly wounded when I received him but still…" Mayuri was suddenly flipping through his folder, looking for any anomalies. "There were a few oddities but all of the arrancar are unique – are you certain?" He was beginning to get upset, mostly because he'd allowed an Espada to slip through his fingers. Thoughts of the arrancar's possible revenge did not concern him. They were weighing heavily on Shunsui's mind, though.

"How dangerous is this arrancar?" Yamamoto interrupted the scientist, looking at Shunsui. He responded with a very sober expression.

"Extremely dangerous. His power was… if it hadn't been for Rose and Love's intervention, I might have lost. However, he was generally disinclined to kill." Shunsui said, remembering how the Espada had hit him with a point blank cero. Impressive as it had been, it hadn't been Starrk's full strength. If it had been, he would have died. "I'm a bit surprised at his actions… I wouldn't have guessed he had such a vengeful streak." Although from the sound of it, he'd been rather restrained, reserving his venom for those who had offended him the most. Shunsui swallowed a bit at the thought. That could easily include himself. He glanced at Juushiro and met his eyes, knowing his best friend was thinking the same thing.

"We must find him. Mayuri, you must have samples from him. Can you create some kind of tracker?" Yamamoto asked as Kurotsuchi muttered to himself.

"I will have to work on it. Kami, I can't believe I missed this!" He still wasn't sure how it had happened. How could the Espada have masked his power so thoroughly? "I must… please excuse me." Everyone let him go. Shunsui bit his lip, hoping Starrk really had returned to Hueco Mundo.

Although even if he had, the arrancar might return for his revenge.

Kyoraku would have been surprised to find that vengeance was the last thing on Coyote Starrk's mind.

He'd killed the manager of the whorehouse for the painful whippings he had received, when he was still learning to please the customers. He'd killed the three employees for similar reasons… one had forced him several times in a particularly degrading manner. The two customers had been both degrading and brutal with him. If he could have, Starrk would also have killed Kurotsuchi Mayuri, but that was mostly out of self-defense. He was afraid of the lunatic and what he would do if he captured the Espada a second time.

The thought of killing Kyoraku Shunsui or Ukitake Juushiro never once crossed his mind. As far as Starrk was concerned, they were completely meaningless. The cause for their conflict was over and there had never really been much emotion behind it anyway. Really, he didn't think about them at all.

"I love this Starrk! You're getting really mean." Lilinette said approvingly as she settled behind him in his little den. Starrk smiled at her, enjoying her pleasure. "How long are we going to hang out here, though?"

"Mmm, a while." For them that could mean decades. "It's very pretty." Also quite dangerous. Starrk had needed to be very, very careful excavating his current hideaway.

Long ago, he and Lilinette had found a vast crystal formation. They had discovered how dangerous it could be, finding the corpse of a broken hollow in a spot where the sand had collapsed, revealing razor sharp crystal shards. The crystals distorted any reiatsu, making it impossible to use any hollow abilities and disabling hierro. Effectively, they were a deathtrap to the unwary.

Now, though, Starrk knew about them. So working very, very carefully, he'd burrowed into the base of this one. Using beams taken from Los Noches, he'd painstakingly constructed a very solid little cavern. He'd brought the beams first before beginning the excavation, cutting them into the right shapes and wedging them in as he worked.

The result was a beautifully hidden den in the middle of a lethally gorgeous crystal formation. Starrk knew the shinigami would likely be hunting him now. His identity would have come out, in the aftermath of his revenge. If they followed him in here, though, they would sacrifice every advantage they had. They would be facing him completely powerless. Of course, he would be powerless as well… but his body was very strong and high speed regeneration would still work. Things would probably go very badly for them, particularly combined with his other measures.

But those could wait. Starrk gazed up at the ceiling of his den, enjoying the beauty above him. Crystals protruded from the ceiling, huge and fine and glowing with the light of Hueco Mundo's moon. They channeled the light down, giving the cavern a gorgeous, multicolored illumination. Starrk and Lilinette both loved it. He thought he might make this their permanent den, although…

"When the shinigami have given up on us, I think I will go find a mate." Starrk suddenly said and Lilinette lifted her head, gazing at him wide eyed.

"What? After… that stuff? You sure, Starrk?" She asked and he nodded.

"That's actually what made me think of it." Not everything that had happened to him had been terrible. Starrk could see the appeal. He'd like it better if he wasn't chained down in various positions, though. "I wonder if Grimmjow is alive?" He murmured. The cat was attractive. Lilinette snorted.

"He's bugfuck crazy." She said, which was true. It was a large part of the reason Starrk had never approached him. Starrk sighed.

"I don't have many options, Lilinette." He needed someone of at least Espada strength. Grimmjow was actually a bit on the iffy side. Although… "Such a pity I couldn't keep that retaining collar." If he could only wear something like that, he'd be able to pick a mate among the remaining numeros. Surely there would be someone both attractive and reasonable in their ranks. Lilinette shook her head.

"That'd be dangerous Starrk." She said, which was too true. Although not as dangerous as it had been when the title Espada meant something.

"Well, it doesn't matter. The collar is broken." He'd shattered it before escaping. "Shall we play a game?" He asked and she brightened.

"Yeah, yeah! Let's play cards." She urged him and he smiled, finding their deck of cards. It had been considered necessary supplies and he'd taken it from the whorehouse in his escape. "Go fish?"

"Only if you promise not to cheat." He said severely and she grinned, sitting cross-legged across from him.

"I swear!" She pledged and Starrk didn't really believe it. On the other hand, it didn't matter much. Dealing the cards, he hummed happily to himself.

If they had to be alone again, this was a very fine den to spend their time in.

It didn't take much longer after that for the shinigami to find them.

What they found first, though, was the crystalline traps lying all around them. Shortly after that, they were frantically trying to extract both Juushiro and Sentaro from the crystals they had fallen into.

"Oh sweet kami no, no no…" Shunsui was absolutely frantic. He tried a kido to try to shift the crystals but it fizzled out, completely. "Juushiro!" He could see that his friend was partly impaled on the sharp spikes. Sentaro was even worse and Shunsui wasn't sure he was alive.

"Ukitake taichou, say something, please!" Kiyone begged as Shunsui grit his teeth and began trying to shift the crystals by hand. Soon his hands were deeply cut and bleeding. "Who could be this cruel?!"

"Coyote Starrk." Shunsui muttered. Although he couldn't have created these crystals. They were clearly a natural formation that the arrancar was taking advantage of. There was a cough and he looked up, his eyes widening as he saw a white uniform and grey eyes.

"Catch." A familiar, laconic voice said and Kiyone just barely raised her hands in time to catch a rope. But it was no normal rope… it was made out of steel wire? "The crystals are brittle. Loop that around them and pull to break them." Starrk said and Shunsui stared at him, taken aback. The arrancar was helping them? "Then leave. I want nothing to do with you." Then he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked away.

"Wait! …Damn." Deciding that the arrancar was the least of his problems, Shunsui concentrated on freeing his trapped friends. As soon as he had them out of the crystals, Iemura began to work on healing them. Then he looked up at a distant scream. "Kami, not another…" He'd tried to send a hell butterfly to the other team, but it had fizzled and vanished as it tried to go over the crystals. "Kiyone, stay with them." He said before grabbed quickly binding his hands and grabbing the rope. He didn't want to get blood on it. "I'll go see what's happening." Skirting wide around the crystal formation, he went to see who else had fallen into trouble. The answer was Renji. Byakuya was working quietly on trying to free him but the wounds were every bit as bad as Juushiro's.

When everyone was freed and verified to still be breathing, Shunsui made a quick decision. This wasn't how he'd wanted to do this, but…

"Take them back. I'll stay and speak to the arrancar." They had planned to incapacitate him and bring him back to Soul Society. But Starrk's ingenious little trap had put paid to that plan. However, he'd seen the direction Starrk had walked in. Surely he could find the arrancar's hideaway.

He could, although it was difficult and he had to test the ground carefully. Fortunately, the surface broke easily when he put a foot in the wrong spot. Now that they knew about the problem, Shunsui could see it wouldn't be too hard to avoid… as long as they stayed out of shunpo. Not that he could use it this close to the crystals, anyway. Frowning, he found the tunnel the arrancar had excavated and began to follow it. It was tiny and he had the crawl on his hands and knees to make it through. Eventually, though, he found his way into Starrk's lair.

"You are very daring, Kyoraku taichou. I could have been waiting beside the entrance with a sword drawn." The arrancar drawled as Shunsui stood, frowning at him. Starrk was lying on his back, a pillow beneath his head and Lilinette sitting beside him and glaring. Shunsui was actually relieved to see her. Mayuri hadn't mentioned her at all which had led him to fear the small arrancar was gone. "To what do I owe the visit?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Shunsui returned and Starrk just lifted his head a bit, looking mildly curious. "I am here to return you to Soul Society."

"Oi! As if. We'd die first." Lilinette scoffed and Shunsui sighed, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword. Then Starrk spoke, his tone a clear warning.

"I would not do that, Kyoraku taichou." He pointed upwards and Shunsui followed his finger, puzzled. Then his breath caught as he saw the small black things fixed to the ceiling. Wires led from them. While he was no expert on such things, he could recognize explosives. "One push of a button and we will all die. I will not be taken alive."

"What?!" Shunsui was honestly shocked. The Espada had never seemed like the suicidal type to him. "Why would you do that?" He asked and Starrk just lifted his head and gave him a look like he was an idiot.

"You employ that painted monster, yet ask me that question? If you had to choose between a swift death and being at his mercy, what would you pick, taichou-san?" Starrk asked and Shunsui had to admit, if only to himself, that the arrancar had a point. "I was very lucky that he did not realize what I was. My duties were quite light, in comparison."

"I'm sorry about that. It was not sanctioned by the Gotei 13." He said softly. Starrk just shook his head as Lilientte laughed. It was a sharp, staccato sound.

"Yet torture was. Please leave, Kyoraku taichou." Starrk sounded tired and sad. "Aizen might have been a monster but he was right to try to destroy you. You deserve nothing less… but I am not Aizen. I want nothing to do with you. Please, just go." He closed his eyes and Shunsui hesitated.

"So you have no plans to avenge yourself further?" He asked carefully. Starrk said nothing, but Lilinette responded.

"Nah. We're just going to stay in Hueco Mundo, where hollows like us belong. You leave us alone, we'll leave you alone. Not that we'll ever trust you! Shinigami." She said the word with a sneer. Shunsui sighed to himself. The arrancar could not be making their distrust more obvious. But then, expecting any kind of goodwill from them was absurd. Showing himself out, he wondered what Yamamoto would choose to do.

He had a very good idea of what it would be. He honestly hoped he was wrong, though.

"Starrk? Should we leave?" Lilinette sounded worried and Starrk knew she was right to be. Sighing softly, he rested a hand on her helmet.

"No. There's no point." He said softly as she looked at him, chewing on her lip. "If they can find us here they can find us anywhere. If we abandon this place we'll just be easier to ambush." For a moment, Starrk wondered how they had found him. Some kind of tracker keyed to his unique reiatsu signature? Very likely. Unfortunately, he was just too powerful.

"Well, we are safe here." Lilinette agreed and Starrk winced to himself before giving her a gentle smile.

"Yes, we are." He lied. Their little den had one terrible, glaring weakness. Starrk had just decided it was an acceptable trade-off. Looking up at the ceiling, with its beautiful crystals, he knew what was likely to happen. Closing his eyes, he tried not to think about it.

There was nothing he could do.

Shunsui struggled through the little tunnel a second time.

He was honestly surprised at his orders. He'd thought Yamamoto would order him to take advantage of the weakness of the arrancar's hiding place. And he would, if Starrk did not accept his offer. He very much hoped the Espada would consider it.

When he got into the main cavern, Starrk appeared to be dozing. But as soon as he stood the man's eyes opened and he gently nudged his small companion awake. She yawned before blinking at him, surprised.

"You're back? What the hell for?" She asked and Shunsui smiled at her in a friendly manner. "Oi! Stop being sleazy!"

"Sleazy?" He'd been accused of that before, but usually when he was trying to pick up a woman. That little girl definitely had his number. Starrk sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his brown hair. "I'm here to make you an offer, Starrk-san." He said in a more serious tone as the arrancar flicked him a glance.

"I can't imagine how I could trust you to keep your end of any deal, Kyoraku taichou." The Espada said in a drained tone of voice and Shunsui was suddenly certain that he understood the weakness of his position. There seemed to be something fatalistic about him. The girl, though, seemed oblivious to the real balance of power in the situation.

"Yeah, you get out and leave us alone! We just wanna be left alone!" She said firmly but he kept his attention on Starrk. He was just looking at him empty grey eyes and a slightly sad expression.

"Because of your restraint and your actions in helping us save Ukitake taichou, Yamamoto Soutaichou is willing to give you a chance, Starrk." Shunsui said, looking for any kind of reaction. There was nothing but an empty stare. "If you agree to wear a retaining collar and submit to a tracer, we will give you a chance to join our forces."

"Oi! What makes you think he'll forgive you for treating him like a slave, huh?" Lilinette demanded and Starrk looked down. Shunsui sighed to himself. He knew she was right to be outraged. Yet, what could he do about it?

"That was not sanctioned by the Gotei 13 and I'm very sorry it happened to you. But please, think about the consequences of refusal." He said gently and Lilinette bristled as Starrk failed to react. "I don't want to kill you." He said sincerely and Lilinette immediately objected.

"What makes you think you could, old geezer?! We're safe here! You can't – huh?" Starrk had just set a hand on her helmet and she looked up at him, surprised. "Starrk?"

"You can kill us. But we can kill you. Tell me, taichou san. If you are going to end my life why should I not end yours?" Starrk asked softly and Shunsui just looked at him. He'd been aware of that problem with his own actions, but he'd decided to take the risk.

"You can, but I don't think you will." He said, meeting the arrancar's eyes. Starrk was the first to look away, gently putting an arm around his other half and cuddling her close.

"It is a bit grotesque, trusting in my good nature when you threaten to destroy me, Kyoraku taichou." He said, but not as though he was angry. No, he sounded depressed. Lilinette squirmed, uncomfortable.

"What are you guys talking about? You've been lying to me, Starrk! How could they kill us?" She demanded and he sighed before glancing up at the ceiling.

"The strength of this den is also its weakness. We can bring down the roof whenever we want, but so can they." He said sadly as Lilinette blinked. "If someone is strong enough, they could toss an explosive into the centre of the crystal formation. Or just use a catapult. It would be easy. And we would surely die." The crystals would shred them. There would be no hope of survival. "But I am not volunteering to survive as a lab rat, taichou san. How can I trust you?"

"I don't know, Starrk. But I swear on the Kyoraku clan's name, this offer is not a trick." He said sincerely and the arrancar just stared at him for a moment before leaning back, setting his head against the wall as he looked up at the crystals. His small companion was looking very worried and subdued.

"…Will you be giving any of the others chances too?" Starrk asked softly and Shunsui frowned. He hadn't anticipated that question. "And what manner of limiter will you place on me?"

"The others… I don't know. Perhaps, if this works out well." That made him feel a touch uncomfortable, though. Mainly because if they started rehabilitating the arrancar they would have to admit that their treatment of them had truly been wrong. Everyone felt that Mayuri had been out of line, selling them into slavery, but the experiments, well… they were only hollows. Shunsui admitted, if only to himself, that that didn't make much sense. "The limiter will mostly be to restrain you from harming anyone. Similar in strength to the one you broke before leaving your, um, place of employment." That made a smile play over Starrk's lips.

"Mmm. That's not bad. So the only question left is if I can trust you." Starrk looked up at the ceiling for a moment, his expression thoughtful. Then he shrugged. "Okay."

"…I… wait, what?" Shunsui said, surprised. Had the arrancar just…? Starrk looked at him with a small smile.

"I said okay. I'll take the chance. I really don't want…" His gaze went to Lilinette, who was watching them both. That suddenly made her stiffen.

"HEY! You're protecting me again! You'll be taking all the risk! You can't do that Starrk!" She protested sharply and he shrugged. "No! Starrk!"

"Lilinette, hush." He said firmly before glancing at the rather confused shinigami who was watching them with a frown. "She's referring to the fact that I can take her into me and shield her from feeling anything, protecting her from harm." He said quietly and Shunsui winced as he understood. "But I think I will trust you. I hope very much that my trust is not misplaced."

"It's not." Shunsui said before offering him a retaining collar. Starrk took it and examined it for a moment, verifying that he could break it if necessary. Then he popped it into place as Lilinette made a small, protesting sound. "Shall we?"

"Yes." Shunsui felt very relieved that things had turned out this way. His fellow taichou were waiting outside with the explosives and the small trebuchet that would have launched them into the crystal cluster.

He was so very, very glad that it would be unnecessary.


End file.
